AT&T grant to help Latino and female students

President Holland receives AT&T check for new scholarships. Photo courtesy of UVU Marketing.

Scholarships will go to low-income Latino and constitutional studies students

Jeanette Blain | News Editor | [email protected]

AT&T has granted UVU $24,000 which will be used for scholarships for the coming school year. The grant will give 19 low-income Latino students scholarships of $1,000 each. The remaining $5,000 will go toward a scholarship for a female student pursuing constitutional studies.

Yudi Lewis is the director of the Latino Initiative program at UVU, which will be taking applications for the scholarships. She said that since 2007, when the program began, UVU has seen a 194 percent rise in enrollment in Latino students.

The Latino Initiative is designed to work with students, parents and the community to increase educational and career opportunities for Latino students.

“As a four-year institution, we have the largest Latino student enrollment in the State of Utah,” Lewis said.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Latinos made up 13 percent of Utah’s population in 2010. Lewis said Latinos now account for only 9.5 percent of the UVU student population. She hopes the new scholarships will help boost that percentage.

The scholarships will help low-income students, many of them first generation students, get into college and finish with a degree. All students, regardless of year, may apply.

Lewis said that the Latino Initiative program has been so successful it has gained national attention.

The five-year report, which is released by the UVU President’s office, states that “UVU was one of six institutions in the nation honored at the baccalaureate level by Examples of Excelencia for improving Latino student success.”

The AT&T grant will also be used for the Rebecca D. Lockhart Endowed Scholarship, named after the former speaker of the Utah House of Representatives. That grant of $5,000 will go to a female recipient who is studying with the Center for Constitutional Studies.

“We are thrilled to share our commitment to building a diverse and thriving community of skilled, next-generation students right here in Utah,” said Tara Thue, AT&T director of external affairs in a written statement. “This commitment is part of AT&T’s Aspire program, which aims to increase high school and college graduation rates nationwide.”